Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery

10/09/2026

What's the biggest fish you've ever caught? Drop your pics in our comments... or tell us a very convincing story if you don't have photographic evidence!

You have probably told a fish story by holding your hands out to indicate the length of the fish. It’s always a big fish. 😉 🎣

But how do you really measure a fish? The best (and in some cases legally required) way to measure a fish can differ from one species to another. In Illinois, not all fish have length limits, but for the ones that do, no fish shorter than the specified minimum length limit may be taken from any water body with a length limit.

Read the full story at: https://outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/how-big-is-that-fish

10/09/2026

Fall rainbow trout season is coming up, but we’re already preparing for the spring season! These little rainbow trout are leaving the incubation room today and moving to the start tank room, where they’ll be able to swim around and try eating for the very first time in their lives! This little tray of fish weighs 8 grams (minus the weight of the water). How many fish do you think are in there?

10/01/2026

The rainbow trout are heading out! We sent our first round of trucks out this morning and we'll be sending truckloads of trout around the state for the next several days. These fish arrived at the hatchery as eggs in November, and we hope you like catching them as much as we've enjoyed helping them grow! As a reminder, trout season opens on October 17th, with early catch-and-release fishing permitted at select sites. Check out the news release for more details! https://ifishillinois.org/Pages/Resources/Programs/CatchableTrout

09/03/2026

We know it’s hot outside, but it’s still fall at the hatchery, which means two things: fish stocking and football. We’ve got fans of multiple teams here and it keeps these early mornings pretty lively! Feel free to guess which fish we’re stocking, and let us know who you’re rooting for this season!

08/11/2026

If you see our stocking trucks this week (or next), give us a wave! We’re busy stocking largemouth bass all over central Illinois and we’re excited for these little fish to be part of your future fishing stories!

06/01/2026

These newly hatched little fish are nearly ready to go to one of our outdoor ponds, where they’ll spend three weeks eating plankton and growing. At just a few millimeters long, these fish currently bear little resemblance to their parents, but that will change soon- these fish grow quickly!

05/28/2026

These tiny yellow orbs are some of the youngest largemouth bass in Illinois right now! We’re incubating them in warm water (around 72 degrees) in McDonald jars, where they’re constantly surrounded by flowing water. These eggs will hatch in a couple of days!

04/14/2026

Bass season is about to start at the hatchery! This fish came out of one of our brood ponds this afternoon and we snapped a quick photo before she was placed in one of our bass holding tanks. We anticipate spawning for the smallmouth bass to begin the second week of May- keep checking the page for updates, or stop by the hatchery for a visit that week if you want to see the spawning setup in person!

04/03/2026

We did many stocking runs this week to get rainbow trout to a body of water near you, this is from the trip to Bloomington, Illinois. The trout took off immediately once they hit the water- not a single one stuck around to say goodbye! We hope you all have lots of fun fishing this trout season! Feel free to share your fishing stories and photos with us, we all love hearing about your adventures and seeing your fish.